How's Your Math?

Trace the heritage of your class. Make a list of classes that you personally helped begin. Make another list of people who have left your class to serve elsewhere. On a third list identify classes your class had a part in birthing.

You do the math. Imagine that your class averages about 12 people on Sunday, has an enrollment of 24 members and 24 prospects. You presently had a secretary, outreach-evangelism leader, and four ministry leaders. Let’s say that your class stays together for 10 years and grows to an average attendance of 30 with 60 enrolled, and 60 prospects, and you have a secretary, outreach-evangelism leader, and 10 ministry leaders. Today this might be perceived as a very successful class.

But imagine that your class commits to start one new unit every two years during that 10-year period. You must train a teacher for each new class. That’s five new classes started directly from your class in 10 years.

If each new teacher trained another new teacher and started a new class every 2 years, that would mean that your class would have helped start as many as 16 new units in 10 years!

Let's say that each class averages 12 people, has 24 members and 24 prospects at the end of 10 years, and each class has a teacher, an apprentice (teacher in training), a secretary, outreach-evangelism leader, and three ministry leaders each. The numbers are staggering: There would be more than 350 attending in 16 classes. There would be 744 members, 744 prospects, and 217 leaders from one class that made a commitment to growing by multiplying.

Even if you were only 50 percent successful, what could God do through one class whose leaders and members were willing to make this commitment? Imagine the results if all adults classes in our 40,000-plus Southern Baptist churches made the same commitment! What an impact on kingdom work!

I pray you will take the challenge and ask God to give you this kind of vision.

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